I am a professor and endowed professor at the University of Houston where I founded and direct the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture and head the graduate program in space architecture. My background deals extensively with research, planning and design of habitats, structures and other support systems for applications in space and extreme environments on Earth. I have recently written a new book titled "Climate of Corruption: Politics and Power Behind the Global Warming Hoax". It can be previewed and ordered at www.climateofcorruption.com. Additional information about my book and views can be found on my YouTube address: http://www.youtube.com/climateofcorruption.

I’ve been noticing more deer and antelope amidst the old roaming buffaloes at my favorite gun range, and they aren’t just playing either. Some of them appear to be practicing as if their lives depend upon it. And maybe, they’re right.

Also, more families, including young children, seem to be participating as well. At this point, some readers are probably aghast at this very notion. Imagine the terror of it all! Aren’t things already bad enough without introducing impressionable next generations to a culture of gun violence? What possible good can come of such irresponsible parental behavior?

So okay, I’ll tell you why I view things very differently. What I see are parents who are teaching their children true responsibility at early ages…fathers and mothers who are exposing sons and daughters to extremely stringent safety protocols which carry over into all other aspects of disciplined behavior. I see children who proudly recognize the trust parents place upon them to abide by demanding rules…satisfactions of earned confidence and accountability that will forever guide their lives. I see teaching and learning…skill-building and joys of accomplishment. Above all, I see parents who care, and children who truly know that.

My gun perceptions, probably much like yours, were shaped by early childhood experiences. A vivid recollection dating back more years than I wish to admit calls to mind a beautiful Daisy Red Ryder BB gun in the window of our local hardware store. It cost $4.95… a huge amount for my nine-year-old self to scrape together. A year or so of savings from raking neighbor leaves, mowing lawns and shoveling snow-drifted sidewalks still fell well short of the mark.

Then a miracle occurred in the form of a grandpa who came to visit. Couldn’t figure out why, but he suggested that we walk to town together…right past that very same hardware store…then stopped right there in front to admire how gorgeous that BB gun was, the one with a real wood stock and all. I sadly agreed, but told him that it would be quite awhile before I could afford it. He suggested that we go in and take a closer look anyway. When we left, if you can possibly believe it, I owned that wonderful boyhood treasure long before I ever expected. I was a very lucky and happy kid for sure.

Some people first became interested in guns much later in their lives, and for important reasons. As reported in a Daily Beast article, Paxton Quigley who worked in a public relations office did so after a Los Angeles friend called her with terrible news, confiding that a stranger had broken into a home bathroom window and brutally raped her. Her friend had called 911, but the police arrived a half hour too late to offer any help. When Paxton asked her “If you had a gun, do you think you could have stopped the attacker”, the answer was “yes”.

Soon afterwards, Paxton took a gun course, stating: “I had never shot a gun. I had never touched a gun. I was actually anti-gun. But I thought, this is never going to happen to me.”

That shooting experience first gave her a headache. She remembered, “I didn’t like the noise; I didn’t like the kick of the gun. I got home and fell into a deep sleep.” But then, “When I woke up, I felt so good…I knew how to shoot a gun.

She followed up with the purchase of a handgun, enrolling in a range of shooting and self-defense courses, teaching more than 7,000 other women to shoot, and writing four books about why women should arm themselves. Her most recent one, titled “Armed and Female: Taking Control”, discusses dozens of survivors of violence, including sexual assault. She concludes, “Almost all said they could have stopped the attack with a gun”, and that, “A woman will be anti-gun, but then once she’s assaulted, she wants a gun.”

And what if the rapist has a gun? Paxton argues: “Then you better shoot first”…but also, that “If you feel that you can’t use the gun, don’t own it.” Evidence I have been witnessing at the range suggests that many women are heeding that wise advice.

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“A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional > maturity.” > –Sigmund Freud, General Introduction to Psychoanalysis (1952)

> Did Dr Freud .actually. say this? ________________________________

Apparently he did in the 10th Lecture of ” A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis” (1916-17)

In these other passages Freud associates retarded sexual and emotional development not with gun ownership, but with fear and loathing of weapons. ~Don B. Kates, Jr., Guns, Murders, and the Constitution — A Realistic Assessment of Gun Control (Don Kates is a San Francisco criminologist and civil liberties lawyer).

And it fits with the *phallic symbols* of dream interpretation…..

All elongated objects, sticks, tree-trunks, umbrellas (on account of the opening, which might be likened to an erection), all sharp and elongated weapons, knives, daggers, and pikes, represent the male member. ~Sigmund Freud , The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) Chapter 6. Representation in Dreams by Symbols: Some Further Typical Dreams

So , according to Freud a fear of guns equates with a fear of the erect penis….? And gun-lovers…..?

Thank you for bringing back one of my fondest memories as a child. I was 10 years old when my father took me to a gun shop and purchased a 20 gauge single action shotgun. Dad taught me how to shoot at the local trap and skeet range. Later when he felt I had enough experience we went on a quail hunt. I have been hooked for life on the blessing of hunting and target shooting. I used the skills my father taught me and I became a much better student. Hunting and target shooting requires a lot of discipline as you mentioned. Thanks again Larry, 2nd amendment rules!

“What I see are parents who are teaching their children true responsibility at early ages…fathers and mothers who are exposing sons and daughters to extremely stringent safety protocols which carry over into all other aspects of disciplined behavior.” Right … I am sure you keenly observed every assault rifle wielding yahoo on every gun range instructing their offspring on gun safety.

I go to the range often and take my children and grandchildren. It is very strict and rules must be followed or you get ejected. Yes there are some Darwin award nominees there, but most are intelligent and follow the strict rules. I can only speak for my family. They are all responsible and very disciplined.

Have you ever been to a gun range? The large majority of gun owners and gun enthusiasts, that I have had the pleasure to associate with, are very responsible with their guns and continually practice safety at home and on the gun range. They also stress to their children the importance of safety when handling guns. By no means am I an authority on gun safety, but I am an avid hunter and gun enthusiast and I have been around guns for about 26 years and I have NEVER just seen a parent hand their child a gun on a range and cut them loose.

Obviously you can’t be trusted and should not have access to the internet, lest you use it irresponsibly.

I could make the same arguments regarding people driving cars or having a tool of any sort.

If women are safer owning a firearm and are properly trained in the responsible usage of it that’s much better than some gang member who has no idea what gun safety is. If guns are banned the only people who will have them are the criminals who obtain them illegally.

Any one who believes that outlawing the right to own a gun will solve violence issues are sadly mistaken. Currently, as it stands, there are screening processes and background checks to be able to obtain a licence, and still there are very high amounts of crimes committed by unlicensed gun holders. To think that would suddenly change because a law says so is extremely dangerous. All it would do is make it harder for honest good people who have a right to protect themselves against those who are armed and dangerous, to do just that. If the law is being broken now, it will be broken then, and who will pay? The innocent.

There are always going to be some people out there who shouldn’t own a gun and that is the down side to inventing fire arms. Can’t turn back time and make them not exist so you cannot pretend they don’t exist by abolishing rights. You have the choice to live where you live and you have a choice to move any place else as well. If you don’t feel safe enough to trust the judgement of the people in your community then I would question your judgement for staying in such a place.

I took my wife to the range yesterday. It was the first time in her 42 years that she ever fired a gun. We were at the range during the late afternoon and there were other couples there and dare I say it? Yes, fathers showing their kids the safe handling and use of fire arms. The more she fired the handguns the more confident she became. Now she knows that the gun will not just go nuts and fire, she has total control. I told her for years to not fear guns but to have a healthy respect for what they can do and now she understands. I don’t see her going out to buy a “Pink Lady” soon but at least she has conquered the initial fear and actually looks forward to our next outing.

Oh I don’t know jfogel. My husband and I started shooting in our 40′s as well. And I was like your wife – would have nothing to do with guns, until our house was broken into by a guy with a rap sheet as long as your arm (which included assault with a deadly weapon). I now own several long guns and a couple of really nice handguns in my own name. I think I’d put some money aside for that “Pink Lady” if I were you.;-) As she builds skills, and tries more makes/models, she will probably want her own gun from a manufacturer she finds suits her best.

The world needs more ladies like yourself who are informed and skilled in the safe and effective use of weapons! As for my Wife’s preference, she can have whatever she wants as long as she stops saying no to me buying an Uzi. No, I don’t need one of those but I want it.

Well done! I was fortunate to grow up on a household that hunted and had firearms, and more important parents and grandparents that taught me their responsible use.

Even if a household does not have firearms, understanding the importance and responsibility of such a weapon is critical to teach your children. There may be a time when that child finds themselves in a household where another child that did not have that education discovers his family’s firearm and wants to show it off.

They are inanimate objects, but are extremely dangerous if misused. They are present in our culture and proper understanding of responsibilities with regard to these weapons is important to teach.